Physicians and other concerned individuals have in recent years come to appreciate that finger fractures and especially fractures and other injuries to the thumbs, are among the most common serious injuries sustained by skiers in accidents. The reason for this is that the skier normally grips his ski poles in such manner that the thumbs protrude in the direction of the skier's advance, and since the hands are not readily disengaged upon a fall or impact, the thumbs often bear the brunt of the impact.
Prior known devices have not successfully addressed this problem. It is thus known, as for example from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,746,356 and 3,874,686 of Shipstad to provide a hand shield on the top of a ski pole. This shield is formed as a semirigid blind tube whose closed end forms a deep pocket in which the skier's hand and wrist can fit with some play. The ski-pole grip extends transversely across the interior of the shield slightly back of its closed front end, so the hand can hold this grip. The ski pole therefore extends transversely away from this shield. The principal function of this device, however, is to deflect wind from the skier's hand. It is not actually adapted to protect the skier from the aforementioned dangers.
Further, these items are fairly bulky when in use so that they make smart maneuvering difficult. Storage of skis equipped with them is also quite inconvenient, in particular on a roof rack where ski poles will need more space than the skis. In an accident it is also possible for a hand to get twisted inside the shield and be injured by the shield or by an attempt to free it from the shield.